is there away to make alcohol with out a still?

[Grayson_Stewart]

Brought over from old forum

cob
(Unregistered)
01/01/04 06:36 PM
is there away to make alcohol with out a still?



My friends grandad said he used to make hootch/alcohol with malasses, potato skins and I think he said yeast. He said that he did this with out a still, is there a way?

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Bananatron
(stranger)
01/02/04 01:38 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: cob]



Yes, you can make alcohol without a still.


Basically, you have your yeast, and nutrition (sugars/starches) for the yeast. You put the yeast and the sugars/starches together in a liquid, and then the yeast converts the sugars and starches into alcohol and gas. This goes on until either the alcohol concentration kills the yeast, or the yeast runs out of food (the sugars and starches).

What you have after that I believe is what distillers call the "wash". You can drink the stuff, but it doesn't have near the alcohol concentration of distilled drinks.


That's where stills come in. You use the stills to distill the stuff. Distilling is basically the process of evaporating the type of alcohol you want out of the wash, and then the evaporated alcohol condensates and ends up in a separate container. What you then have is some more potent alcohol, that can be flavored, or mixed with other drinks.


When I first came here I made a post asking about if this:
http://www.beveragerecipe.com/AZ/HmmdWin.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
page was telling the truth about making your own wine.

The process would be similar with potatoes and molasses. The yeast needs sugar or starches, and molasses and potatoes would provide both (sugar and starches, respectively). If you choose to use potatoes and molasses, you might want to check about the right ratios to water, and how much yeast to add.


If you need any other answers, feel free to ask. I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability, though I'm still rather new to the subject. Im sure others wouldn't mind helping you either.



To the other guys, this is the Viper that posted that "Is this simple just too simple??" thread. theholymackerel, I Decided to take your advice about registering.

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cob
(Unregistered)
01/02/04 12:15 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Bananatron]



Thanks man, I would use a still, but it seems to complicated to make. That site that you showed me with the wine is that considered wash too? or is that basically how wine is made, also did you ever try that site that shows you how to make the wine? Last thing bro, do you know the easiest instructions step by step to making a still i've seen a lot but it looks to hard. Thanks again

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Yttrium
(stranger)
01/02/04 02:21 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: cob]



If you're looking to make a REALLY simple still, it can be made with only three things: a pressure cooker, a length of copper tubing, and a fan.

Put the copper tubing into the emergency pressure release valve of the pressure cooker and angle the copper tubing down so that most of the distilled ethanol won't flow back into the pressure cooker. Finally, have the fan blow air on the copper tubing. This setup won't do a great job of seperating the alcohol from the rest of the stuff, but its a good, easy, and cheap way to make your first still.

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Fourway
(enthusiast)
01/02/04 06:56 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Yttrium]



hi... I need to get to another country quickly and I hear that the best way to do that is in a jet airliner.

I don't know anything about piloting a jet airliner and I wonder if there might be a way that I can get to another country quickly without learning to fly a jet airliner which sounds like it might be too complicated.

And thank you by the way for that link to the website that explains how to stow away in the bilge of a Russian freighter.
Is that how everyone who doesn't want to learn to pilot a jet airliner travels to other countries?

"Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough." -Mark Twain

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cob
(Unregistered)
01/02/04 07:28 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Fourway]



what are you talking about fourway???? Is this some special message to me to read and learn first before I ask questions? If so just come out and say it. If its not then please explain what this has to do with my post.

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Bananatron
(stranger)
01/02/04 08:02 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: cob]



Fourway is just being an asshole, ignore him.



I almost forgot cob... read the stuff on http://homedistiller.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow about wash. It will tell you what you need to know, it also has information on the types of stills, and building your own still.

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Fourway
(enthusiast)
01/02/04 08:34 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Bananatron]



sorry still drunk.
will clarify later if I can still figure out what I was trying to say... right now it still seems rippingly funny.



"Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough." -Mark Twain

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LeftLaneCruiser
(newbie)
01/03/04 02:21 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Fourway]



I'm as sober as can be. (had not even breakfast yet) And I fully understand what Fourway means.

I usually do not respond to posts that are personally intended. But Fourway is not an asshole, he just puts things in such a way it makes you think for yourself instaed of just feeding answers in ready pieces.

By the way: that is just about the same method Socrates used.
(If you don't know him look it up before .... etc)

KJH



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Fourway
(enthusiast)
01/03/04 04:02 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: LeftLaneCruiser]



Hmm...

Now that's not really fair... Bananatron didn't say I was an asshole at all. He said I was being an asshole... which implies that it is a temporary state.

And of course he was wrong, I'm not an asshole I'm a bastard.
There is a subtle but nonetheless crucial difference.
As to it being a temporary state?
Well that's very kind but of course also quite incorrect.

Anyhow... on to the clarification...

I was in one of those happy manic drunken moods where you suddenly realize that you are the cleverest funnyest person who ever lived and procede to crack yourself up with your own extreme wit... that happens to everyone doesn't it?

I was trying to be illustrative... and from my reading of it now (I'm sure last night I percieved a great multi-layered fugue of poetic meanings within meanings) it looks as though I was trying to comment on both the original poster's need to do just a tiny bit of research... just enough to be able to frame a newbie question that made sense... while at the same time commenting on the blind leading the blind factor of the preceding exchange.

All very funny and clever... trust me.
not particularly helpful though.

See if I wasn't a bastard at heart I would have taken the time and energy to give a pleasant helpful answer to the first question.
What happened instead is that I read it, concluded that I'd be extremely hard pressed to answer without sounding condecending and generally nasty even if I was trying not to and so decided to let one of the other helpful smart people here answer instead.

The moral is, Don't post drunk.

As penance I will now try to post the helpful friendly answer that I should have written in the first place.

"Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough." -Mark Twain

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Fourway
(enthusiast)
01/03/04 04:42 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: cob]



It's not entirely clear what you are trying to find out from how you phrased your question, but I'll try to take a shot at answering the question(s) that it sounds as though you might be trying to ask:

Q: Do you need to use a still to make alcoholic beverages?
A: No You don't, wine and beer are simply fermented and not distilled.
Fermentation to produce alcohol is acheived by adding yeast to a mixture of sugar and water like fruit juice in the case of wine or malt sugar in the case of beer and allowing the live yeast to work for some time turning the sugar into alcohol.

Q: Do you need a still to make strong liquor like whiskey or vodka?
A: No, but the alternatives aren't a whole lot less work.
What a still does is heats up a fermented liquid (like wine or beer) until the alcohol in it reaches its boiling temp which is lower than the boiling point of water. The alcohol then vaporizes and passes into a part of the still called a condenser which cools the vapor off until it turns back into liquid alcohol.
Other ways of doing this are by repeatedly freezing and straining the beer or wine (very tedious and very inefficent)or by using a evaporation still which operates at much lower temps and takes several days. The evaporation still everyone here talks about is the Amazing Still. A little looking around will yield more information on it than you can likely digest all at once.

Q: Would my friend's grandad's recipe make a tasty beverage that would get me drunk?
A: Yes and no, your friend's grandad's recipe is a variation of a form of homebrew generally called "sneaky pete". It will get you drunk if it doesn't turn to vinegar, but it will probably taste like the oozy water that collects in the bottom of an old refrigerator.
If you aren't too particular there are much better ways to make fast easy alcohol water that you can flavor with koolaid or whatever and not even have to hold your nose to choke down.
If you are kind of particular there are wine and beer making kits that aren't expensive and come with everything you need to get started and make perfectly drinkable wine and beer.

Q: Is distilling hard liquor a fun and rewarding hobby that I should look into seriously?
A: Certianly! With a couple of caveats..
1- Unless you are in New Zealand distilling is probably illegal where you are so while it is a fun and exciting hobby it's not suitable for people who feel strongly about breaking the law.
2- Distilling can be dangerous if you don't do it carefully and sensibly. The pitfalls are numerous and some are pretty dire like poisoning and explosions.
Most of these pitfalls can be avoided through studying enough to know what you are doing and by having and using common sense. (common sense of the fire is hot, water is wet, alcohol vapor can explode variety)

Q:Where can I learn more about distilling?
A: I'm glad you asked! Right here on this website, the one that this forum is on http://homedistiller.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow there is a veritable treasure trove of information about distilling, I"ve been reading it for months and I'm still not finished.

Have fun!!




"Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough." -Mark Twain

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tater
(member)
01/03/04 07:35 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Fourway]



Fourway I can tell by reading back on my own posts when Tater was sippin .Ive thought I had picked it up on a few of yours as well. Lol Funny how it aint as clear as it was the night before

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Anonymous
(Unregistered)
01/03/04 03:26 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: tater]



Two things to explore:

1.) the Amazing Still - a VERY simple still you can build
2.) Using the idea that alcohol has a significantly higher freezing point, you can easily concentrate your wash.

Do a little research.


Neener

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Fourway
(enthusiast)
01/03/04 07:10 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Anonymous]



The freezing thing sort of depends on your definition of "easy".

I personally consider making freeze fortified applejack to be a gigantic pain in the ass.

"Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough." -Mark Twain

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Neener
(stranger)
01/04/04 11:45 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Fourway]



Making applejack, I would imagine based on what I've read is every bit as hard (well, not hard, but time consuming) as using a traditional still. I'm talking about something simple, like putting your wash in 2 liter plastic bottles, freezing them, and then sitting them out upside down into a beaker to let what didn't freeze run out for an hour or so. That's pretty trivial. Not my idea of fun or a hobby, but he doesn't appear to be asking for that.


Neener




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Yttrium
(stranger)
01/04/04 08:59 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Neener]



The problem with that is that ethanol is soluable in water and when the water freezes, it will trap a lot of the ethanol in the ice. The repeated freeze/thaw process used in applejack overcomes this problem.

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Fourway
(enthusiast)
01/05/04 05:52 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Yttrium]



Yeah... it's not that easy.


"Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough." -Mark Twain

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Neener
(stranger)
01/05/04 07:49 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Fourway]



If you turn the 2 liter upside down into a beaker or so, and let it sit for a few hours, the ethanol WILL be released...maybe not all, it's not very efficient, and it's hella hard to control the final %abv (read: impossible), but it's still easy, IMHO.


Neener

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refluxinator
(stranger)
01/07/04 10:36 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Fourway]



FOURWAY!!! Don't stop, or change a thing! Some of us, forgive me for speaking for others, but Yes! Some of us have quite a fondness, dare say, appreciation for your manner of delivery. I find myself eagerly anticipating your response to some of the posts on the site. Not to sound selfrightous, but I was able to avoid being the target of such response by, listen up new members:
# 1 Read the site over and over again!
# 2 Do not post on the forum until you cannot find the answer on the site.
# 3 If you cannot find the answer on the site, read it again.
# 4 Explore the site, don't just look at what interest you, learn something new.
# 5 Before asking a question on the site, check previous posts, someone before you has asked the same question. (I learned that the hard way)
# 6 The site is downloadable, download it and read it, read it when your bored, eating a sandwich, scratching yourself, but wash your hands between the scratching and eating.
# 7 FINALLY, lighten up, if your willing to risk your ass on an illegal hobby you need to learn to see the humor in everything life has to offer.

Those who don't put out the effort to learn probably deserve to be blown up, or poisoned or whatever. Yes, it sounds harsh, and perhaps I'll go to hell for my attitude, but Darwin was on to something.
READ THE SITE!!!!!!

patience,patience,patience

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LeftLaneCruiser
(newbie)
01/08/04 11:02 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: refluxinator]



Refluxinator,

thumbs way up !!

If English were my native language I would probably have written the same, but couldn't find all the words.

I feel the same way too, and please Fourway: do not deprive us from your witty, humourful, tongue-in-the-cheek, yet very comprehensive and informative comments.
Still learning from you (and others ofcourse..) on a daily basis

KJH


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Wendy
(stranger)
01/09/04 03:55 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: LeftLaneCruiser]



Lord I wish I could write dialogue like that
Wendy

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tater
(member)
01/09/04 05:16 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: Wendy]



yep

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theholymackerel
(journeyman)
01/10/04 12:26 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: tater]



Here, like most boards, about the time I ask myself "how much more off-topic can this get?", I get interested enough not to care.

Do ya'll drink at all while distillin'? I try not to, but I usually sip a beer or two.

Ya'll have any favorite things to listen to while runnin' yer stills? I have a live recordin' of Steve Earl and the Del McCoury band... it seems to do it for me.

I wish humanity as a whole would put some effort into a spaceprogram. How else will i ever get to be a beloved distiller and purveyor of whiskey to asteroid miners? Think of it... the fermentables will be WAY expensive, but free vacuum, coolin' and heat! Every distillers dream! (Or at least mine...heh.)

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refluxinator
(stranger)
01/10/04 09:46 AM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: theholymackerel]



Howdy,
I have a beer or two while I'm runnin', it helps wash down the samplin' I do from the output line. I also listen to Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, Willie Nelson, Time-Life Country Classics (all volumes), Rush, Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, Metallica (old stuff, not the stuff they wrote when they cut their hair), Van Halen (David Lee Roth, Hagar sux!) Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, just about anything except Rap, Gangsta' Rap, Hip-Hop and the like, No!!! I don't wanna "rape the bitch","kill tha' cop" or any of their other mostly undiscernable lyrics and rythems.
Sorry All! I kinda went off there.... oh yeah, I also like how we tend to get off subject, it makes it worth READING ALL THE POSTS, and you might learn something you didn't know before. Ooops there I go again....

patience,patience,patience

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Dairy
(stranger)
01/15/04 12:35 PM
Re: is there away to make alcohol with out a still [re: refluxinator]



Plant are suppost to grow better, cows produce more milk
with various types of music. I wonder if the type of music you play has an effect on the quality of the Alcohol you produce or maybe it tastes more bitter if you drink it to Metalica.

Off to drink some Alcohol and listen to some music, all in the name of science of cause.



Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will use it.